1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a body front structure of a vehicle.
2. Description of Related Art
Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 11-115801 (JP 11-115801 A) describes a vehicle front pillar structure in which a closed cross-section is formed by a front pillar reinforcement and a front pillar inner panel. This closed cross-section is formed generally constant in size in a direction perpendicular to the closed cross-section (i.e., a vertical direction).
An instrument panel reinforcement bracket is provided to an inside, in a vehicle width direction, of the front pillar inner panel. A front end portion of the instrument panel reinforcement bracket is connected to a connecting portion of the front pillar reinforcement and the front pillar inner panel. Moreover, the instrument panel reinforcement bracket is connected by a cowl brace to a cowl that is arranged in front of a front pillar, in a vehicle longitudinal direction.
However, with this vehicle front pillar structure, when a barrier side collision in which a barrier overlaps with the front pillar occurs, a side collision load is not sufficiently transmitted to a surrounding member of the front pillar such as the cowl, so mainly the instrument panel reinforcement receives the side collision load. As a result, the cross section of the front pillar may give way and the front pillar may bend.